Governors
Welcome to the Governors’ page of the school website – we hope you find it useful in telling you who we are and what we do.
Who are we?
The Governing Body at Long Ridings is made up of 16 Governors and 2 Associates who are committed to the school’s aims to encourage and develop the whole child intellectually, physically, emotionally, morally and spiritually, to achieve his or her full potential within a forward-looking, stimulating and secure environment. We aim to work in close partnership with Ms. Murthen (who is a member of the Governing Body), staff, pupils and parents to enable children to achieve success and to prepare them for the opportunities and experiences of adult life within a culturally diverse, ever changing, society.
The Governing Body is made of members from different groups – parents, staff, our local community and the Local Authority. Individual governors bring their own experiences and expertise to the governing body and we aim to use their skills to the benefit of the school.
What is our purpose?
The governing body is the school’s accountable body. It is responsible for the conduct of the school and for promoting high standards of achievement. The governing body aims to ensure that children are attending a successful school which provides them with a good education and supports their well-being. The responsibilities of governing bodies has grown and the ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda has meant that schools are now accountable for children’s health and well-being in the community and for a wide range of extended services provision out of school hours.
What do we do?
The governing body has a number of responsibilities which have to be exercised in partnership with the headteacher and staff. Governors should not intervene in the day-to-day running of the school. The governing body:
Sets the strategic direction of the school by:
- setting the values, aims and objectives of the school;
- agreeing the policy framework for achieving those aims and objectives;
- setting targets;
- agreeing the school improvement strategy which includes approving the budget and agreeing the staffing structure.
Challenges and supports the school by monitoring, reviewing and evaluating:
- the implementation and effectiveness of the policy framework and school improvement strategy;
- progress towards the school’s priorities and targets;
- the budget and the staffing structure.
Ensures accountability by:
- ensuring parents and pupils are involved, consulted and informed as appropriate;
- holding the headteacher to account for the performance of the school;
- making information available to the community
- responding to the Local Authority and Ofsted when necessary.
Governors are most useful to the school by being supportive yet challenging, neither blindly accepting nor entirely critical of the way the school functions. If the governing body gets the balance right it can both support the school and promote its improvement effectively.
How we organise ourselves:
The governing body must appoint a chair and vice chair but, beyond that, is able to organise itself as it wishes in order to carry out its responsibilities. Certain duties must be carried out by the full governing body but others can be delegated to nominated governors or committees. At Long Ridings, we have one committee, Pay, Personnel & Performance that meet twice a year, in addition to the full governing body, all of which meet at least twice a term. Between meetings, governors work individually or in small groups to carry out our work.
We welcome the involvement of parents, as Parent Governors and in giving feedback. If you wish to contact us, please do so via the school office until such time as we are able to publish a separate email address.
